Hope
by BadCook
Summary: Is it so wrong to hope, even if the fates are against it?    But we continue to hope, to have a little faith in something, anything, to keep from drifting away.    SasuNaru


This story is according to the ratio of 1:99. One part me, the other 99%, part of the fics I've read till this day. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>Is it so wrong to hope (<em>to dream of soaring above the clouds, reaching for the stars, to infinity and beyond<em>), when all that we have been doing is to continue to hope _(pray for a miracle, don't we always) _and to cling to that little bit of faith, suddenly pulled from under you _(and we're falling, falling into the depths of despair) _because somehow, we continue to hope even though it has failed us one too many times.

At times like this, we wilt, something in us dies and is reborn _(haven't you heard that when a ritual dies, another is born?) _in the valley of what once we called our heart. _(or the remains of it, a black empty husk, a shell, waiting to be filled with light once again)  
><em>

And so we hope.

* * *

><p>Life's not fair. It figures.<br>A constantly changing environment, _(No, we humans don't like change, we despise it, abhor it so)_ new beginnings, and a definite end.

Life's not fair. Apparently so.  
>How lucky of <em>him <em>to have been blessed with a surge of wealth and blissful happiness.  
>And just when <em>he's<em> lived life, instead of merely observing it, it happens.

Life's not fair. The ugliness is beseeching.  
><em>(It's a screeching mess, clawing at the walls of his heart. The agony.)<em>

* * *

><p>He was startled awake, gasping for air.<br>_(He was running, running; running away from the pain. Hiding.)_

'It was just a dream,' Naruto mused, the shock slowly wearing off.

_'Only a dream…'  
><em>  
>He looked down on his bed and strewn all over, were strands of his hair <em>(beautiful spun gold, the colour of sunshine) <em>like threads of yellow silk. _(but dead, so very dead) _And he screamed.

He bawled and he cried, he wept and he died. _(a part of him -hope, it's called hope, however delusional he is- it's gone)_

The sound of glass breaking rang throughout the house and footsteps were heard, running towards him. The door slammed open and rays of light shone into the semi-dark room. A silhouette was seen, through his blurry eyes.  
><em>(His world's in a haze, so foggy and blind)<em>

It came closer and his sobs calmed down, hiccups echoing loudly in the quiet room.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, the rough sound of his voice bouncing off the walls. -_Naruto's beacon of light, his savior in the darkness, his everything._-

His cries started up again, and Sasuke hugged Naruto to him, soothing him with his presence. _(I'm here, I'm right here.)  
><em>  
>"Hey, don't cry, it's alright." <em>(No it's not, it was, but it'll never be again)<br>_  
>A few minutes passed and Naruto finally calmed down enough to talk.<p>

" 'm sorry," he whispered, his voice muffled by Sasuke's neck.

x-x-x

It was so sad, that he would actually forget and delude himself into believing that this wasn't happening._ (Not to him, no, not to him). _After all, he had been undergoing chemotherapy for 6 weeks. _(it's feels long, but it's short, so very short)_

Cancer. What a vile, vile word. It had all begun with a killer headache. _(Damn it, damn it all to the pits of hell)  
><em>  
>A Cranial CT scan, and voila, a head plunge first into an endless abyss. <em>(it felt like free falling, with nothing to hold on to, and him, trying to grab onto something, anything. Until a strong, warm hand reached out and pulled him up.)<br>_  
>Sasuke had been there from the start, holding his hand and walking with him through this living hell <em>(yes, it's hell, undeniably so) <em>every step of the way, towards the road to recovery _(nirvana, like sweet nectar from the God's lips )  
><em>if it even exists. _(But Naruto prays, Sasuke prays, they both pray so hard)  
><em>  
>Sasuke calmed Naruto down with more soothing words, sweet promises <em>(are they empty, they wonder)<em>and said,

"Wake up. We'll get through this. Then you'll have your happily ever after. _(No happy endings. Naruto doesn't like them. Happiness shouldn't end, it shouldn't, it mustn't, it can't) _We'll get married and buy that little cottage down the road I know you've been eyeing for awhile. Then we'll settle down, find nine dogs to look after and go out for walks with, until we grow old and ripe, looking like wrinkly prunes."

At that, Naruto lets out a small chuckle, and Sasuke smiles down warmly at Naruto's head, tucked under his chin, eyes shining with affection and love.

"Just hold on."

_(Don't let go, don't give up. I'm here, I'm always here.)_

* * *

><p>And the words are repeated <em>(little bits of life and what could have been),<em> whenever Naruto breaks down _(again and again, like a bomb waiting to explode)._

He lives and he breathes, until time stops ticking and the world stops spinning.

* * *

><p>The doctor<em> (God's aid-No, Satan in disguise)<em> declares that he has a few more days to live, a week at most. Naruto's strong to have come this far, but it's not enough, _it's never enough._

So Naruto bundles himself up _(his beanie covering his bald head, chemotherapy does that to you), _takes Sasuke's hand_ (it's warm, so very warm) _and struts outside _(out of the suffocating walls of the room, the hospital and his sickness),  
><em>into the cold open air, and breathes for the first time, '_I'm alive.'_

* * *

><p>They spend the next few days enjoying the little things life has to offer.<p>

'I'm strong enough,' Naruto tells himself, _'I'm strong enough'. ('to go on' remains unspoken)  
><em>  
>They go for walks in the nearby park and enjoy fresh coffee in the corners of a quaint little café they stumbled upon one snowy afternoon. Endearing words whispered, affectionate gestures exchanged, they spent every single waking moment together. <em>(dreams do not escape unscathed, as they are filled with each other, it's just another realm for them to meet)<br>_  
>Their bonds strengthen every second they spend together, never once weakened, though darkness looms over their heads. <em>(And it's coming, Armageddon knocking on their door, but they're not answering, not answering until the Grim Reaper himself comes barging in –We're not giving up - )<em>

* * *

><p>Five days fly by.<em><br>(A mere blink of an eye, it's gone, never to be had again)_

* * *

><p>Naruto lies weak, but still alive <em>(he's breathing, breathing; breathing like it's his last)<em>, on the hospital bed, the room stone cold. _(He's not dead yet, why the coldness? Why the morgue-like atmosphere? Why? He hates it, hates it so.)_

But Sasuke's hand feels warm in his and Naruto smiles, heart wrenchingly loving at him, looking at him with eyes filled with devotion, and Sasuke feels his heart stutter in his chest. _(how can one be so beautiful, he wonders)  
><em>  
>He smiles back at Naruto, blinking back tears. <em>(He's so beautiful, it hurts)<em>

Rivulets of tears start to run down Naruto's cheeks, bleeding out of those sapphire orbs of his. _(eyes so blue, it feels like he's sinking, sinking so deep)_

"I love you," Sasuke whispers for the first time, in the confines of their shattering world.

Naruto smiles his heart breaking smile at him, yet again, and mouths the same words back.

And darkness embraces him.

* * *

><p>Ah, so I'm posting another fic here. Wasn't meant to be here, it's something for school, but I really, really need a diverse opinion about this before I pass it up.<p>

(Does anyone have Y!gal here? Can anyone tell me how to upload a friggin story there? There's no specific button stating 'UPLOAD' and it came with no manual on 'Steps to Submit a Story.' Triple S, LOL.)

**IF YOU SPOTTED ANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THE STORY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME SO. **

(AND THE LAST LINE FEELS LACKING. DO TELL WHAT'S MISSING OR IF IT'S WRONG GRAMMAR WISE. )

Is the ending ambiguous? Leave a note.

Thanks for reading. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. :)


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